


One Year Too Early

by TrioMaxwell



Series: One Year Too Early [1]
Category: Free!
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, College AU, Fluff and Angst, Long-Distance Friendship, Long-Distance Relationship, M/M, One side Rin/mako implied makoharu
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-06-28
Updated: 2014-06-29
Packaged: 2018-01-11 17:51:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 4,657
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1176065
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TrioMaxwell/pseuds/TrioMaxwell
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Update:  Mikoshiba's POV in Year 3 of Samezuka and the first year in University.</p><p>(I was trawling through the MikoRin tag in Pixiv and the fics written by thunderdownongreenside, ezzydean and I got some inspiration to write this. I like this pairing, but it’s rather dry offerings compared to other ships.<br/>Used to be titled "Does This Mean I Have A Chance?")</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. One Year Too Early

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wrote Chapter Three (then, it was Chapter one, and a one-shot) in February and posted it first. 4.5 months later, it's Chapter Three now, and I'm posting Chapter One and Two, because I just wrote them.  
> I know I'm supposed to write a continuation, but I wrote back story instead.  
> *Sighs* Because I am a really lousy fanfic writer.  
> In my defense, I wrote Chapter 3 when I was really new to the fandom and back from a four year writing drought.  
> Okay, I'll stop with the excuses.  
> 

In his room at home, Mikoshiba Seijuurou sat down, pen in hand, and tried to put his feelings into words on paper. _‘To Matsuoka Rin,’_ he started.

 

‘ _I like you. I like you very much. I know you think I like your sister. Yes, she's cute, but not as cute as you.’_ He crumpled up the piece of paper.

 

_‘I really like you. You’re one of a kind. I love to see your smile during training. It really lights up the room...’ Ugh! What the fuck am I writing?_

 

 _‘Please go out with me.’_ Another balled-up paper fell to the ground.

 

 _‘I'm leaving Iwatobi in four months, but can we get together in the meantime?’_ _Ugh!_ He tore the paper in frustration. It sounds like I'm only after a short fling!

 

 _‘If we get together, if I start with you, I won't only want this moment. I’ll want every moment after this. But I can't stay here and you can't come with me and I don't know if I can stand that...’_ He crushed the words, sweeping it to the floor with the others and pressed the heel of his palm between his eyebrows.

 

“Fuck,” he whispered to himself. "And what do you expect him to do about it?"

 

(He had been to the interviews, he had sat for the private entrance exams for early admission. The letters of acceptance had arrived and he had already given his replies. In a few months time, he would graduate out of Samezuka High School and away from Matsuoka Rin. How should he tell Rin that he still wanted him to be a part of his life? The thought of graduating without doing or saying anything really went against his way of life but no matter how he racked his brain, he couldn’t think of what to say or do that would make a difference.)

 

A few more crushed-up pieces of paper later, he finally managed to write,  _‘I'm going to graduate soon and I've been accepted to Tokyo. Will you consider joining me in Tokyo? Will you please allow me to wait for you there?’_

 

His hand moved to crumple the paper to join those before it but he stopped himself. He looked at the words he had written and bit his lower lip. _It’s really a fuckingly poorly worded sentiment,_ he thought bitterly at himself, _but it’s the best/most neutral one I have._

 

(He had been, to put it simply, born one year too early for Matsuoka Rin right now.)

 

He made a loud strangled noise of frustration, causing his younger sister to pop her head into his room in alarm. “Onii-san, what’s wrong? Whoa, what happened?” She gawked at the papers scattered all over the floor and bent down to pick one up.

 

“Stop, Miwa, don’t touch them,” Seijuurou said and she stopped, looking up at him uncertainly. “I’ll clear them up myself.” He smiled at his sister’s concerned look. “Don't worry, it’s nothing.”

 

(He personally brought the balled-up pieces of paper to the waste disposal area and made sure to toss them all into the furnace himself. The letters burned brightly, sending up bits of ash, and disappeared.)


	3. Does This Mean I Have A Chance?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which a one-sided tickle fight ensues and Mikoshiba confesses.
> 
> I reread this chapter and realised the style and POV do not match the other chapters.   
> And I am terribly ashamed, so I am going to rewrite this chapter.   
> However, as AO3 does not allow me to take down a chapter temporarily, I have to leave it here for now.   
> I hope you will continue reading the later chapters and not be put off by the quality of Chpt 3...   
> I thank you for your kind understanding. =\
> 
> Regards  
> Trio Maxwell

——————  
Rin walked towards the Iwatobi train station with quick short steps, his gloved hands buried deep in the pockets of his winter coat, shoulders hunched so that his muffler covered his nose. 

He sighed, warm breath ghosting over his cheeks before escaping as white clouds into the night air. With every step, he mentally packed up his feelings for one Makoto Tachibana into a box, to be sealed and placed at the deepest lowest shelf of his mind and then, hopefully, forgotten. He packed up the memories of warm smiles, kind words, the ridiculous happy feelings that arose when Makoto was being thoughtful and kind to him and made him want more despite knowing that Makoto and Haru were together and had probably been since kindergarten. He took all his little fantasies and packed them in, too. The ones of holding Makoto’s hand as they walked down the street, of getting matching scarves. Of wanting to be hugged from behind into that undoubtedly warm and generous embrace, or to snuggle and share hot chocolate and kisses in front of the fire place. There was so much he had wanted to do except that Makoto belonged to Haru. He couldn’t bring himself to upset the equation that was Haru and Makoto equalled one happy couple.

And Rin was an outsider.

He packed and packed, focused so much in his own head that he was barely aware of having reached the station and finally, when he was sure that he had gotten his heart cleared out till it felt like a big empty space in his chest, the bottomless box was sealed for now and he could cautiously think of leaf-green eyes and only feel a sad, numb, painfully philosophical feeling of “you didn’t lose anything, you can’t lose something you never had” in response. He looked up at the smattering of stars in the night sky and thought about how nice it would be to be one of them, bright and cold and detached and emotionless.

He was smacked out of his reverie by a heavy hand landing on his shoulder and he spun around, heart beating wildly, to see his team captain, Mikoshiba Seijuuro, casually dressed in jeans, white turtleneck and a black leather jacket, grinning down at him. “Hey, Matsuoka! Fancy meeting you here!”

Rin could only swallow his heart back into his chest cavity and try to snarl a greeting of,”Buchou, you fucking nearly gave me a heart attack.” He managed to bare his teeth but Mikoshiba was clearly unrepentant, grin widening as he poked Rin in the ribs.  
"Lighten up, man! Always so grumpy. You’re gonna get wrinkles before you’re twenty."

Rin rolled his eyes as he moved away, removing one hand from his pocket to swat irritably (and ineffectively, Mikoshiba was too fast, damn him) at his captain’s evil and unerring pokes Right. In. His. Ticklish. Spots. Unbelievable! They were too old for this! Rin blushed red from more than exertion as he made another outraged squeak as yet another attack connected. Mikoshiba was fucking lucky that the train station was fucking quiet this time of the night and no one was near enough to witness the fuckingly ridiculous spectacle of two (nearly) 6-feet tall young men engaged in fucking poke wars better suited to kids half their fucking age or the Samezuka swim team would forever wonder about the mysterious disappearance of their fucking captain.

"STOP FUCKING POKING ME!"

Rin finally got out of range of his captain’s attacking fingers and stood a safe distance away, face flushed, slightly out of breath and eyes blazing, glaring at Mikoshiba who was wearing an infuriating, self-satisfied smirk on his face. Rin wanted to punch it off. Mikoshiba spoke first, taking advantage of Rin’s breathlessness.

“That’s a better look than that long face you had on earlier. What happened, you got rejected by Iwatobi’s captain or something?”

And that was so close to the mark that Rin who had been about to snark at his captain shut his mouth with a snap. His captain fucking knew, had he been that fucking obvious? Or his captain had just been a lot more perceptive than Rin had given him credit for. They stared at each other, Rin with his jaw working hard as he tried to think of something to say, the empty space in his chest echoing so loudly that the time for a snarky rebuttal passed and Mikoshiba, carefree smile finally disappearing as understanding dawned on that cheerful face.

"Oh, hell, Matsuoka, I’m…"

Rin interrupted, “Save it, buchou,” and turned around so that he wouldn’t have to see or hear his captain’s pity, he didn’t need it. “It’s nothing, anyway.”

He started to walk away but was stopped short by a tug on his muffler. He stumbled backwards, his back hitting a broad chest, strong arms wrapping around his shoulders, smelling of coffee, leather and Mikoshiba’s aftershave.

"Hey, Matsuoka," Mikoshiba’s voice breathed into his ear. "Does this mean I have a chance?"  
——————  
End

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wrote this chapter in February as a one shot and the other chapters in June.  
> If there're continuity issues or discrepancies, please tell me! ^_^  
> Many thanks in advance.


	5. Coping with Distance

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> AU in which Mikoshiba Seijuurou has already graduated from Samezuka and moved on to Tokyo alone.

Location: Narita Airport, Tokyo

Seijuurou entered the Arrival Hall at Narita Airport and looked around, his heart beating a little faster at the sight and sounds in the new and unfamiliar environment. He gripped his bags a little more tightly as he followed the flow of people, searching for the signs leading to the subway. He managed to get to the ticket counter without incident and onto the train (actually, it was more accurate to say that he was swept through the doors and into the carriage by the crowd, he didn't have much choice in the matter. He was rather glad his parents and sister weren’t here to be jostled about every which way).

 

Navigating the Tokyo subways had been a real ordeal, and he had been turned around more than once in the underground maze of interconnecting shop-lined walkways, but in the end, he managed to transfer trains, get off at the correct station and locate his new apartment without causing an incident.

 

(He must remember to thank his uncle for the detailed instructions given to the apartment; the same uncle who had bought the place when his own son was studying in Todai; it was beautifully located, within running distance of the University and for Seijuurou's use alone; his cousin had graduated just that year.)

 

Still, as he unlocked the door and dropped his bags in the room, he could not help feeling a sense of achievement, a lot like having survived a zombie marathon.

 

(It could've been something to do with the faster pace of life here. People walked more quickly, talked more quickly; You ended up speeding up unknowingly too. it was like living in a video on fast forward.)

 

He tested all the switches and taps, the stove, opened the fridge and checked the bathroom, like his mother told him to. Everything in the little bare 1 LDK was in order. The rest of his stuff would arrive tomorrow. His meagre belongings, when unpacked and carefully stored and hung in their proper places, somehow made the shelves and closet seem more bare. 

 

He fell onto the bed and lay there for a while, staring at the ceiling and listening to his own heartbeat.  _What could he do now?_  Well, he could walk around and familiarize himself with the neighbourhood, find the nearest supermarkets and twenty-four hour combinis. He could suss out possible running routes, the nearest cafes. He needed to take care of tonight's dinner and tomorrow's breakfast.

 

Mostly though, he wanted to talk to someone, face to face, but there was no one here for him to talk to. Everyone he missed was back in Iwatobi and they were at work or having classes right now.

 

How he missed them all. Friends and family. But especially Rin.

 

 _It’s only for a year_ , he thought.  _He would see Rin again_. He recalled the words Rin had said to him just before he left and his smile.

 

_“Please wait for me, Seijuurou. I will see you in Tokyo next year.”_

 

\-----------

Location: Tokyo Swimming Centre

 

“... The next overseas tournament will be the Korean Open in June, that's in three months time. Selections will be held three weeks before. Shortlisted members will be selected based on the top six averages of the three best times from official speed trials before the end of May. That’s all for the announcements today, so let's start our training proper." The coach clapped his hands to emphasize that the briefing had ended. "The training menu is up on the board."

 

“Yes sir!” The fifty-odd members shouted and split up to do their warm-ups.

 

Seijuurou blinked as he followed behind them, trying to process all the information given and feeling just slightly at a loss. There hadn't been much of an orientation for him on his first day of training with the National Team, just a list of rules (guidelines dictating expected behaviour among members) and the training schedule handed to him by the coach, with a short one-sided introduction and the general message of ‘keep up with the team or get out’.

 

(His status here was totally different from that in Samezuka. He had gone from the position of Captain and first string swimmer, to the most rookie and junior member of the National Team. He wasn’t even in the second string of swimmers; he had yet to earn a place. There were two eighteen year old members from Tokyo high schools (and taller than him already, dammit!) but they had been there for more than six months, so they were considered his seniors in experience.)

 

The team's attitude was totally different from that in Samezuka too. Everyone was so serious here; they weren’t here for fun or to make friends. They were all hungry athletes, determined for their training to mean something on an international level. They eyed Seijuurou searchingly, guessing at his ability and potential, at what his presence meant for their chances to represent. He returned their gazes with a cheerful grin, refusing to back down. He wasn't here to play around either!

 

(He didn't know anything yet, like who were the best in each stroke, or who to avoid in the locker room, but he guessed he would find out. Hopefully, he wouldn't step on any landmine that would blow off a figurative arm or leg.)

 

 _This is normal. You knew this before coming in, there’s no need to be babied,_  he thought, focusing his thoughts as he stretched.

 

_The past doesn't matter, it’s performance that counts here. The fastest swimmer wins._

 

_It’s that simple._

 

\---------

Location: Tokyo Apartment

 

Seijuurou groaned as he rolled onto his back, his eyes hurting from staring at the computer screen for so long. He had just sent three reports to different professors for early submission but still had two and a half more assignments to go. He needed to clear the assignments by the deadlines so that he could fly off and participate in the Korean Open in two days time. He had trained his arse off and fought tooth and nail in the water for the right to represent but he couldn’t risk his grades either.

 

_But if I stare at the computer any more, I’ll risk my eyes instead. God, I need a break._

 

His silent regard of the ceiling was interrupted by the buzzing of his cell phone. He reached for it and located it without looking and thumbed open the screen.  _This message is from…, Matsuoka Gou-kun? Huh,_  he thought, tapping the message, then he chuckled as he saw the content of the message.

 

_‘Onii-chan said I should send this to you.’_

 

She had sent a photo of Rin in his Samezuka summer uniform, smiling and playing with a rather tubby white cat in someone’s home.  _Nanase-san's, probably,_  he thought.

 

 _What a sight for sore eyes._  He rolled onto his stomach to have a better look at the photo.  _Rin looked good_ _,_  he thought.  _Fit and healthy, more cheerful than he had ever seen him, in fact._ He wondered if Rin missed him very much or even at all; messages from him were few and far between (he received more updates from either Tachibana-san and Gou-kun than he did from Rin, although Nitori outdid them all) and the few times they had tried to video call each other over Line, it had resulted in one or both of them falling asleep halfway through.

 

_What he wouldn’t give to be at Iwatobi right now, though._

 

 _‘Thanks~! Looks like he’s having fun! Tell him I said "Hi!"’_  he sent Gou-kun. 

 

He pushed himself up and sat before the laptop, cracking his knuckles before he began typing again.  _His next picture back to Rin would be one of him and a medal from the Korean Open,_  he thought.

 

The image of Rin’s smile lingered in his mind.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Todai: The University of Tokyo (東京大学 Tōkyō daigaku), abbreviated as Todai (東大 Tōdai)
> 
> Combini: Convenience stores
> 
> It used to be titled “Does This Mean I Have A Chance?” and it was a one-shot I wrote in February.  
> Because readers have been commenting on how this story should be continued, and I’ve been thinking a lot lately, I suddenly have ideas and back-story written out. 
> 
> The original fanfic is now Chapter Three of this story. I don’t have Chapters 2 and 4 completed yet, but I do have 5 and 6. The missing chapters won’t affect the flow much. 
> 
> (If you spot any mistakes/discrepancies, please please please tell me.)


	6. Coping With Distance Part 2 (aka Birthday Blues)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mikoshiba celebrates his first birthday away in University.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I always thought Mikoshiba was a Sagittarius, so his birthday would be in Late Nov / Early Dec.

**One Year Too Early Part 6 (aka 'Birthday Blues')**

 

_'Buzz-zz-zz-zz!'_

 

Seijuurou heard his cell phone go off at exactly midnight. He thumbed the lock screen open, grinning to see not one, but four messages. He appreciated the effort the senders had taken. It took a special kind of person to send off birthday wishes to others at the stroke of midnight after all.

 

_‘Happy birthday, buchou! I wish you good health and good luck in your swimming and studies! - Nitori Aiichirou’_

 

It was no surprise that Nitori had remembered his birthday. The kid was a whiz at remembering stats and data about members in both his own and rival teams and he treated those he considered his friends seriously. Iwatobi received birthday wishes from him too, he knew.

 

‘Thanks for the greetings, Nitori! I sure appreciate them. And lay off the ‘buchou’, will you? I’m not your Captain anymore.’

 

_‘Onii-san~~~ Happy~~~ birthday~~~! How’s Tokyo? Is it snowing yet? Do you miss me? Do you miss us? Are you training hard? Papa and Mama wanna talk to you on Line at night, is 10pm okay? Will you be celebrating with your friends? Message back!! Love, Miwako - Little sister’_

 

He smiled at his sister’s enthusiastic message and tapped out a reply.

 

‘Hey little sister, thanks for the greeting. How's everyone? Tokyo’s fine. Nope, no snow yet. I’ll send you a picture of first snow when it does. Yes, I miss all of you. Of course I’m training hard, how about you? How’s the volleyball going? I’ll be back at 1030pm tonight, is that alright? Love, Seijuurou.’

 

_‘Happy birthday, dude! All the best! Let’s train hard together! - Sakashita Mamoru’_

 

Mikoshiba raised an eyebrow. Huh. This was a surprise. Sakashita was a fellow member of the National Team and while he wasn’t one of the more antagonistic members, they must’ve spoken about ten sentences to each other in the five months they’d been training together? (And five of them had been along the lines of, “Can I borrow your shampoo?” and “Have you seen my goggles?”) How had he known it was his birthday? So, he’s the type to message birthday wishes to others at the stroke of midnight too.

 

‘Thanks, Sakashita, I appreciate it. Yeah, hope you have a good day too! See you at training tomorrow.”

 

_‘Happy birthday, Mikoshiba-san! How’s training? Tokyo must be very cold right now! I hope you have a wonderful day! - Tachibana Makoto’_

 

How surprising, a message from Iwatobi’s Captain. Training in the National Squad was tough. He was used to ‘tough’, though. The weather was still alright, although he wasn’t looking forward to snow in January. He wriggled his toes in the thick socks he had taken to wearing around the apartment as he thought of how to reply.

 

‘Thanks, Tachibana-san. Training’s tough, as expected. Tokyo’s not that cold right now, haha! It should be comparable to Iwatobi. I heard you guys are training at Samezuka during the winter season. Give my regards to your team.’

 

—————

 

Location: Tokyo Apartment, 7am

When Seijuurou woke up the next day, he blanched a little at the number of messages displayed on his phone. It was so easy to send a message and remember events like anniversaries and birthdays nowadays! He scrolled through them quickly, picking one or two out to answer on the spot, since they came from close friends, rather than acquaintances.

He then tossed the phone on the bed, resolving to answer the rest when he had time later, and hurried to get ready for class.

 

————-

Location: Lecture Hall, Time: 11am

_'Buzz!'_

His phone had been going off throughout his lessons and he had given up replying to every message; he simply didn’t have the time. He still looked at every message as it came, though.

 

It was after the fifth buzz in that lesson alone that he admitted to himself that he had been looking forward to Rin’s message.

 

And it was after the fifteenth buzz (and subsequent minor letdown) that he admitted he had really, really, REALLY been looking forward to Rin’s message.

 

He was tempted to send a message to Rin, like, ‘Hey, it’s my birthday today!’ but didn’t. Rin would practically be obligated to wish him a ‘Happy Birthday’ in return, and he didn’t want that.

 

But he didn’t stop hoping though. Surely, Nitori would’ve reminded him of what day it was?

_'Buzz!'_

—————-

Location: Cafeteria, Time: 2pm

Seijuurou briefly fantasized about going back to Iwatobi for winter break as he ate lunch with his peers. _It’d be great,_  he thought.  _He’d get to eat his mother’s cooking, he’d get to see his family and friends, he’d get to see Rin…,_ He exhaled, crushing the hopeful thoughts before they got big enough to hurt.

His training schedule wouldn’t allow it.

(He only had fourteen days a year for leave and they needed to be saved for exam days and the days off in case he fell ill. He could and should go back for New Year’s though…)

 

_'Buzz!'_

His cell phone went off again. Nope, not from Rin either. This constant stream of notifications was getting a bit wearing and he was tempted to put his phone off vibration mode to get some peace. But he didn’t.

_'Buzz!'_

 

_‘Happy birthday, Mikoshiba-kun! I hope you have a wonderful day today! -Matsuoka Gou’_

 

He blinked at the message, then felt guilty that his first thought was,  _'Oh. Wrong Matsuoka'_.

 

——————

 

Location: Tokyo Swimming Centre, Time: 6pm

 

Seijuurou snagged his goggles from his bag before he closed his locker and stood for a moment with his hand on the door. His mood had been getting darker as the day progressed. Rin still had not messaged him so far. He thought that if he got any more depressed, he would sink and drown in the pool. That thought angered him somewhat and he yanked himself up by his figurative collar.

 

 _Fuck this, fuck that, fuck everything_ _,_  he thought angrily at himself. _Fuck you and your expectations. So, he didn’t message you today. Does he have to? Maybe he’s busy, maybe he’s forgotten all about you, maybe he’ll message you tonight, but this cannot affect your training, your performance. This is A DAY, JUST LIKE ANY OTHER DAY, so stop this mental… snivelling? whining? Now go out there and swim!_

 

_Besides, he’ll probably send a message by tonight._

 

Out by the pool, his team mates greeted him with birthday wishes, handshakes and back slaps (Sakashita must’ve told everyone), and then there was nothing but two hours of regulated breathing and blue water.

 

(And after training, Sakashita and some of the other members kept him back and they brought out a cake with candles they had been hiding in the locker room and everybody sang him a birthday song and he was able to smile and thank everyone sincerely. He appreciated all their efforts, really. He made a note to find out when their birthdays were, too. Then, the cake was cut and shared and he got a piece smeared all over his chest and face and he was sure the photos would all be on Facebook in two minutes. The cake was delicious. They showered and changed, then they all went for dinner together.)

 

He begged off early to return home and they all let him. His parents were waiting on Line, he said, and they all had school or work the next day. He hurried as he exited the train station because the night sky was covered with orange clouds and the air was heavy with the smell of rain.

 

\-------------- 

Location: Tokyo Apartment, Time 10.25pm

 

He opened up Facebook after he had showered and changed (again), then huffed in amazement at the number of new notifications received. More than three hundred notifications! (He usually received just three or four updates from close friends.) They all had the same message of, ‘Happy birthday! All the best! Keep in touch!’

 

(He scrolled through the whole list from beginning to end and saw wishes from ex-schoolmates from middle school in his hometown and high school in Iwatobi, swim club friends, people he had met from overseas tournaments, close and distant relatives, and his friends and acquaintances in University but still, he did not find the name he was looking for.)

  
  


_Did something happened to you? Are you ill? Or hurt?_ He supposed he could ask Nitori…

 

_'Tira-ling!'_

His phone chimed out with a notification alert; His parents were online. He put on the earpiece and accessed the app.

 

“HAPPY BIRTHDAY, SEIJUUROU!” The loud and enthusiastically synchronised greeting almost caused him to drop the phone.

 

“Geez, you guys, you almost gave me a heart attack!” he laughed.  _Thank goodness he was only eighteen years old. Whoops, make that nineteen years old, today._

 

(After the flurry of wishes and greetings had subsided, his mother monopolized the phone and commented on how sharp his cheekbones were getting. He scratched his cheek and told her that he was eating lots (eight thousand calories a day, in fact), it was just that his training was burning it off just as quickly too. His sister took the phone away and joked about how he would need to drink bowlfuls of cooking oil just to put on weight and he mock flicked his finger at her forehead on the screen. His father managed to hold onto the phone for five seconds, enough time for Seijuurou to see his face and say,  _hi dad, yes, I’m coping alright on my own_  before each of his brothers grabbed onto the phone and shouted greetings in turn. Then, his mother took over again. She asked about his training schedule, his health, his apartment and how he was handling his studies, questions that she had asked a million times before, but she just needed to make sure each time that he was doing fine. Family was like that.)

 

Finally, they said their goodbyes and Seijuurou exited the app and sighed. Seeing his family was great, even if they were tiny images on a cell phone screen.

 

_'Buzzz!'_

He lunged for the phone and thumbed open the lockscreen. His eyes widened on the seeing the message  _and_  sender.

 

_‘Happy birthday. Good luck. - Nanase Haruka’_

 

Seijuurou frowned a little even as he typed back a reply. Even Iwatobi’s front crawl specialist had bothered to send him a mail (although he couldn’t help thinking it may have had more than a little to do with Tachibana).

 

_Where the hell are you, Rin?_

 

He knew that while he had been allowed to wait for Rin in Tokyo, it didn’t mean that they had to communicate daily too. Most days, Seijuurou didn’t mind. They were both very busy after all. 

 

But it was his birthday today. 

_So maybe, he doesn’t know, or didn’t care? Maybe he should have messaged him earlier to tell him it was his birthday after all._

 

Somewhere in the building, a neighbor’s clock struck for midnight. He counted off the twelve chimes. And just like that, his birthday was over. He stared at the phone, then closed his eyes.

 

_Happy birthday, Seijuurou. Happy birthday to me._

 

The door bell rang, and he sighed as he got up.  _It’s probably someone with the wrong address_ , he thought as he opened the door.

What he saw made him stop and stare in amazement, because…

 

Matsuoka Rin was there in front of him, a little bent over, hands on knees, panting and sweating like he had run a marathon  _(or from the subway station, his mind whispered)._  His clothing was rumpled and a day bag was slung over his shoulder.

  
“Hi, Sei,” Rin straightened as he huffed. “I know it’s late, but it’s…,” he checked his watch, “11.58pm. See? I made it, hah, with two minutes to spare.” He smiled, bright and beautiful despite being breathless and disheveled, and launched himself into Seijuurou’s arms.

 

"Happy birthday, you dork!"

 

END part 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Congrats on reading to the end of the chapter!! XD


End file.
